Merc 3.0 Locked Up Please Advise..

I have a 96 Merc 3.0. Started it today for the first time this season. Heard a loud " metallic rattling" sound in the back of the motor. Was looking at the back of the motor and listening to it run for about 3 minutes is all. Had the muff on the out drive and saw some water coming off the motor low and in the back and running into the boat. Thought that was strange.. along w/ the rattling. Shut it off, looked things over. Tried to start it up again and the motor turned over a couple of times and then she seized up. Crap!! The rattling perplexes me, the water worries me and the seize up terrifies me. So I can let the flaming begin, no I didn't winterize the boat. Only used in once last year in July and just let it sit all winter here in South Dakota. Double Crap!! Could the motor be seized? Could it be a bearing that's rusted and seized? Where would the water be coming from? I checked the oil, no h20 in there and the plugs look fine. Anybody have any ideas before I hand over my 401K which is now a 101K to get it fixed? Thanks for any help you can give.

Re: Merc 3.0 Locked Up Please Advise..

Only used in once last year in July and just let it sit all winter here in South Dakota.

Click to expand...

You have a junk motor. Cracked block no doubt.
Probably blew a core plug out of the back of the engine (or a piece of the block) and it got jammed between the block and the flywheel.
Pull the engine , remove the flywheel and look.

Re: Merc 3.0 Locked Up Please Advise..

Sorry to hear about what has happened to your boat but why didn't you winterize it? when you live in a harsh winter enviroment.